A powerful storm in California recently left a path of destruction, with fallen trees damaging cars and homes. Amidst the chaos, a Tesla Model 3 in Portola Valley became the unwitting target of a massive tree. Despite the severe damage, the Model 3's robust roof and windshield structure shielded its passengers from harm.
Photographs shared by the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office on Twitter reveal the tree's immense size and weight, emphasizing the significance of the Model 3's performance in the incident. Such incidents serve as a reminder for drivers to avoid hazardous weather conditions whenever possible.
The image is reminiscent of the scary scene captured on video (video below) when a windstorm blew over a tree directly on to a Model 3. The occupants walked away unharmed. In the description of the video upload, the poster writes:
Large section of an old tree fell directly on my car, right above the driver's seat... The footage is from the dash cam of the car behind us. We all walked away... thank you, higher powers and Tesla engineers.
Video Falls on Model 3
The Importance of Roof Strength in Vehicle Safety
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) reports that the 2022 Model 3's roof can withstand a staggering 20,835 lbs of force. This robust roof structure plays a critical role in protecting passengers from accidents involving falling trees or rollovers. IIHS roof strength tests the strength-to-weight ratio, or the force applied relative to the vehicle's weight. A "good" rating requires a strength-to-weight ratio of at least 4. The Tesla Model 3 surpasses this benchmark with its exceptional 5.85 ratio.
Roof strength is vital in preserving occupant survival space during a rollover. Stronger roofs are less likely to crush, reducing the risk of injury from contact with the roof. They also help prevent ejections through windows, windshields, or doors that have broken or opened due to roof deformation.
The Tesla Model 3's performance in this tree-crushing incident highlights the vehicle's exceptional safety features and the company's unwavering commitment to protecting its passengers. As EV technology advances, the Model 3 is a prime example of how safety innovations can make a significant difference in real-world situations. As drivers face an unpredictable world filled with natural and human-made challenges, Tesla's dedication to safety and engineering excellence offers a sense of security and peace of mind behind the wheel.
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The long long wait for FSD (Supervised) in Australia and New Zealand may be coming to an end. Thom Drew, Tesla’s Country Director for Australia & New Zealand, has confirmed on LinkedIn that Tesla has been working with local authorities in both countries and that there are no regulatory blockers for the release of FSD in the region.
The confirmation came in response to questions following Tesla’s FSD demo video in Sydney, Australia.
Hurdles Cleared
For many years, the main question surrounding the release of FSD in other Asia-Pacific countries, especially Australia, has been the status of regulatory approval. Drew’s statement provides the clearest answer yet regarding regulatory barriers, and it appears that the path is clear from a governmental standpoint.
“We have been working with local authorities across AU & NZ and there are no regulatory blockers for release. We are running through the final stages of validation prior to public release. Looking to start with HW4 on certain vehicles and then release in phases from there.”
Thom Drew, Tesla’s Country Director for Australia & New Zealand (LinkedIn)
With the regulatory question answered, the timeline for the release is now entirely in Tesla’s hands. According to his statement, Tesla is in the final phases before a public rollout, likely meaning Tesla is doing some final testing and veritifcation on local roads before flipping the switch.
— Tesla Australia & New Zealand (@TeslaAUNZ) July 17, 2025
The Rollout Plan: HW4 First
Drew also provided the first details on how Tesla plans to launch FSD in the two countries, and it seems to be a similar approach to the one Tesla took in China.
That means that the release will begin with AI4 (HW4) equipped vehicles first. Once those vehicles are up and running, they will slowly begin to phase in older AI3 (HW3) vehicles over the next few releases.
For owners of HW3 vehicles (everything we know about the HW3 upgrade), this phased release means that they’ll be waiting a little longer than other owners, but at least there’s progress and some clear next steps now. A little more waiting isn’t too bad, especially when you consider just how long many owners in Australia and New Zealand have been waiting for any semblance of FSD in their nations. Tesla initially outlined Q2 2025 as the target availability date for FSD in RHD markets, so this timing is roughly on track with what Tesla initially announced in September 2024.
Hopefully, Tesla also opens up the opportunity for FSD transfer for HW3 owners in both countries, as we’re sure many people would upgrade alongside the official release of FSD to the latest hardware.
And just in case you thought the first video wasn’t true because it wasn’t upside down - well, Tesla provided us the original too.
Another quarter has passed, and that means it’s time to submit questions and vote for Tesla’s Q2 2025 Earnings Call. While Q1 was a tough quarter for the company, Q2 saw some recovery in sales, although there’s still some work to be done.
However, there’s always a lot to be excited about during Tesla’s Q&A session, where we usually learn a lot about future software improvements and upcoming vehicles. We may hear more about FSD Unsupervised, Robotaxi, or the more affordable vehicle, or its upcoming larger 6-seater Model Y, the Model Y L. Tesla also mentioned a potential FSD price hike back in the Q1 2025 Earnings Call, so that could be something that is brought up as well.
Tesla’s Q2 So Far
Tesla has already released their Q2 2025 Production and Delivery numbers, which were up from Q1 of this year, but still down compared to Q2 last year.
Production
Deliveries
Model 3/Y
396,835
373,728
Model S, X, and Cybertruck
13,409
10,394
Total
410,244
384,122
How to Submit & Vote
Tesla lets shareholders submit a question that will be voted on and may be answered during the Q&A session. To submit your own question or vote on an already submitted question, you’ll need to be a verified shareholder. You can go to Say’s platform and link your brokerage accounts.
Once it is verified, you’ll be able to log in and vote your shares on your own question, or on someone else’s question.
Here’s the link to get started on Say’s Tesla Q&A. You must submit your questions and votes by July 23rd, 2025, at 4:00 PM EDT.
Top Questions So Far
Unsurprisingly, people have already been submitting questions, and here are the top ones so far.
Can you give us some insight how robotaxis have been performing so far and what rate you expect to expand in terms of vehicles, geofence, cities, and supervisors?
What are the key technical and regulatory hurdles still remaining for unsupervised FSD to be available for personal use? Timeline?
What specific factory tasks is Optimus currently performing, and what is the expected timeline for scaling production to enable external sales? How does Tesla envision Optimus contributing to revenue in the next 2–3 years?
Can you provide an update on the development and production timeline for Tesla’s more affordable models? How will these models balance cost reduction with profitability, and what impact do you expect on demand in the current economic climate?
Are there any news for HW3 users getting retrofits or upgrades? Will they get HW4 or some future version of HW5?
When do you anticipate customer vehicles to receive unsupervised FSD?
And here are some other ones we found interesting:
Have any meaningful Optimus milestones changed for this year or next and will thousands of Optimus be performing tasks in Tesla factories by year end?
Are front bumper cameras going to be necessary for unsupervised full self driving? If so, what is the companies plan to retrofit vehicles that do not have them?
Will there be a new AI day to explain the advancements the Autopilot, Optimus, and Dojo/chip teams have made over the past several years. We still do not know much about the HW4.
Earnings Call Details
Tesla will hold its earnings call on Wednesday, July 23rd, at 4:00 PM EDT. It's still early for an access link, but we’ll make sure we have a link up on the site before the earnings call that day.
If you do miss the earnings call, no worries. We will provide a full recap following the call, and we’ll also do some in-depth dives into what was said and what we know.
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